Defender!

Okay, mofos, this has gotta be quick. I’m in a coffee shop in Big Bear on vacation. Helped my niece get online for her college stuff.
There is an arcade in this town. It has a Defender machine. I used to play Defender every day as a lad in Bar Harbor in the summertime. I never got more than 50,000 points.
A few years ago Beth and I were in Big Bear and hit the arcade and I dropped about 3 bucks in the game, once again, never getting more than 50K.
2 months ago I was at a production company where they have the game in their lobby. It’s free. I got killed before I got one extra ship.
I suck.
Then we walked into this arcade in Big Bear again. Beth, Aaron, Tommy and I. I put four quarters on the machine and started.
I cracked 50,000 and ran out of smart bombs. Then I lost my spacemen and I was in outer space, where it is all frenzied mutants and pods and it’s impossible to survive, at least for me.
Something odd happened this time, though.
I survived space.
I got back to the planet.
I broke 100,000 points.
200,000.
If I could just get, 300,000 that would be cool, I thought.
Then 3, 4, and half a million points.
Beth was ready to go. Ready to GO!?!?!? Are you crazy????? Don’t you see what’s happening here? My thumb and last two fingers on my joystick hand are blistered and bleeding. Dare I hope? Do I dream of a million?
I’ve never gotten more than three screens on ANY video game!
Then it happened.
994,000…996,000…998,000…..
And the game turned over.
One million.
Back to zero.
After that I just tried to die so I could put my name in.
I had 25 smart bombs and 40 ships. I could have played all day. I was in the zone.
I saved the fucking galaxy and achieved a lifetime dream.
I’m a geek, yes, but a geek who turned Defender over, fuckers!